Good Wednesday morning. I'm Jake Sherman and welcome to your political playbook audio briefing. Stay tuned

after the show for a message from the government of Qatar. And I'm Anna Palmer. The president is looking

to do some counter-programming. The Charlotte Observer notes that the president will hold a rally in

Greenville, North Carolina on the day Robert Mueller is set to testify on Capitol Hill.

Meanwhile, the top headline in the 2020 race right now is Kamala Harris is surging while Joe Biden

is reeling post-debate.

She is up 13 points since June in the Quinnipiac University National Poll.

The USA Today, Suffolk University Iowa poll has up nine points since June.

And CNN SSRS National Poll has reped nine points since May.

Meanwhile, according to Quinnipiac, Biden hits his lowest number yet in the Democratic primary

race with 22% of the vote among Democrats

and Democratic leaners. One question a lot of folks are asking is what's up with Bernie? He still

has a strong base of support, but his numbers seem to be flatlining, falling to just 9% in Suffolk's

new Iowa poll. Vox notes this is the worst showing for Sanders in any Iowa poll all year.

It's the only time they report that he's dropped down to single digits.

Not a good side for Beto O'Rourke. He says he's not aware of his fundraising numbers.

That's something you would want to be aware of.

The New York Times is a story up following a DHS Inspector General report that found

swallowed conditions in the border centers at the U.S. Mexico border.

The report found that there were standing room only cells, no showers or hot meals for children,

and detainees were desperate to be released.

And the president has selected Judy Shelton as his latest Fed pick. The Wall Street

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